Divorce: Mediation Vs. Court

Each party in a divorce proceeding should be represented by an attorney, unless they are doing mediation. I handle divorce mediations in which I don’t represent either party, and the process is purely paperwork for both parties. I try to mediate settlements and go over all of the different issues with them. The best way to do this is for both parties to decide on their own settlement rather than take it to a judge, who would not know anything about the person or their family.

There are many times when mediation is better than the court process in a divorce; often, the parties are much happier going through mediation than having a judge impose orders on them.

In the mediation process, the parties still have to go to court, because the court has to approve the agreement reached as a result of the mediation because the court wants to protect the parties and make sure that whatever was agreed to was fair and reasonable under the circumstances. They also want to make sure that no one was forced or threatened to enter into an agreement and to make sure that whatever was agreed to was in the best interest of the children.

Still, in many cases the mediation process is better than being in court all day, where the parties would be handling hundreds of cases, with each case would be just a number. The parties may be leaving their life up to someone who may be in a bad mood, impatient or just overwhelmed with the number of cases they had to deal with; courts are usually very overwhelmed and very short staffed.

Why You Should Get a Lawyer?

Except for mediation, though, in Connecticut each person should have a lawyer, because the only alternative would be to do it themselves, and the old saying is true; the person who represents themselves has a fool for a lawyer. This is important, because whatever is decided during the divorce proceeding is essentially written in stone until the children graduated high school; they’ll want all issues handled and to get everything they can at the time of the divorce.

Do You Encourage Couples To Go To Counseling?

Even though I am a divorce lawyer, I always ask people if they have gone to counseling and whether we could just file a motion for conciliation. It has been mandated by the court that the parties must go to counseling for free sessions; if they don’t, their divorce could be delayed as much as six months.

Red Flags and Warning Signs When Looking for a Divorce Attorney

The difference between a good divorce attorney and one that isn’t so good is that the latter doesn’t act in the best interests of the family, because they don’t care as much about people. The right divorce attorney cares about people, cares about children and wants to do whatever is in the best interests of the entire family; they are not just there to allow their client to be unreasonable and just drag the case on and build up thousands and thousands of dollars of attorney’s fees. My goal is always for the health and welfare of the parties, so they can get their divorce finished as expeditiously and as inexpensively as possible.

I encourage both parties to talk to each other; in fact, it’s better if they do talk to each other so that they can try to work on the agreement by themselves.

For more information on Hiring An Attorney And Mediation, a free initial consultation is your best next step. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking by calling (203) 929-7771 today.